12 Things Digital Designers Hate to Hear – Prototypr

I’ve been a professional Designer now for over 8 years working within an agency, and it’s incredible how repetitive it is to go through some of these things with every single client that you deal with.

I wanted to create a short blog post based on the top 12 things that a Digital Designer hates to hear that I’ve come across over my professional experience:

“It shouldn’t take long.”

How to annoy a designer before they’ve even started their work. being told by someone who has no concept of how long something takes to design, that it ‘shouldn’t take long’ is very frustrating as a designer.

“Last amend i promise.”

If you’re saying this to a designer, then you already know how many 100’s of amends you’ve already been through. Pop them all into one single document, and hand them to the designer in one go. Simple.

“We really like this, they do it well.”

Asking a designer to copy from someone elses work is not the way to go. You’re paying for world-class advice, so take it.

“I want to use this image from Google.”

You HAVE to get the rights to use imagery. 9 times out of 10 google images you find aren’tlicensed for you to use freely, you need to buy from a stock website, or use open source websites like Unsplash.com

“ Can you make it stand out, jazz it up a bit?”

What does this even mean? Never say this to a Designer.

“I want the logo bigger.”

There’s a reason that the logo is presented how it is, there are numerous calculations that a Digital UI/UX Designer has to consider with responsive Website or App design. Feel free to question it but don’t demand, otherwise you’re asking for trouble!

“I think i prefer version 1.”

Once again, you’re paying for world-class advice, and when you don’t take it you open a can of worms for your project. 9 times out of 10 you will alwaysrevert back to one of the first versions you saw, that the Designer recommended the first time around. The Designer is always right.

“Can i get this first thing tomorrow?”

Don’t rush your designer – quality takes time. Chances are you don’t need it so soon you’re just too eager to wait, but giving the Designer the time to find inspiration and create a masterpiece is key.

“My friend studied graphic design and they think…”

If you want to undervalue your Designers opinion, say this. I’m sure your friend who studied design but mostly participated in life-drawing and art history classes knows much more than your fully employed, Designer with over 5 years experience.

“Can you put it into a format we can edit?”

No. Designers use specificsoftware to create their artwork, software that is specifically designed for the industry, software that you have to be trained to use. Stop trying to avoid paying for amends, leave it to the professionals.

“I’ve drawn it out in Word.”

Not useful whatsoever. Grab a meeting to discuss what you’re looking for face-to-face, and let the designer advise you on the best approach, that’s what you’re paying for! Most designers are also Mac users which makes Word Docs useless.

“I’m not a designer, and want your advice, but i want exactly this”

Stop telling your Designer how to do their job. You’re paying for their expertise, use it.

Thank you for reading.

If you have any more funny things that you hear as a designer that you hate to be told, feel free to share them with me!